A Roman barge in the Ljubljanica river (Slovenia): wood identification, dendrochronological dating and wood preservation research

Microbial erosion assessment on waterlogged archaeological woods (WAWs) from a Chinese ancient shipwreck, Nanhai No. 1

“…Similar cases were also reported on another 3 ancient sunken ships from Naples, Italy [39]. Another case appeared on a sunk flat-bottomed barge of the Roman Empire period (AD 3rd Century) which was found in the Ljubljanica River of Slovenia, the major components of the barge were made from beech wood (Fagus sylvatica) [40].…”

Thermal and dynamic mechanical properties of beeswax-halloysite nanocomposites for consolidating waterlogged archaeological woods

“…To study this process, quantitative evaluation of the residual content of lignin and holocellulose in waterlogged decayed wood is determined by using spectroscopic techniques [3]. The maximum moisture content, the basic and the wood substance density are parameters which also provide the preservation state of waterlogged archaeological wood [4,5]. Under extreme conditions, the wood loses mechanical resistance and becomes similar to a sponge.…”

Anatomical and chemical analyses on wooden artifacts from a Samnite sanctuary in Hirpinia (Southern Italy)

“…The kind of biological damage is usually investigated through the analysis of wood cell wall (Blanchette et al, 1991;Blanchette, 2000;Relini and Faimali, 2003;Caneva et al, 2007;Capretti et al, 2008;Cufar et al, 2008): in particular the use of different microscopes, like light microscope equipped with polarized mode and SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), allow to highlight the aspect of degraded cells and what layer of the wall is attacked (Macchioni et al, 2013). Soft rot fungi and erosion bacteria cause often holes and strong deformations mostly into the secondary wall because they feed on cellulose: the consequence of this phenomena is the loss of birefringence observed in degraded wood ( Cufar et al, 2014); when the decay is at a very advanced level, the holes join together and the wall becomes completely deformed (Pizzo et al, 2013a). The extent of the attack by biodeteriogenes and its consequence on the residual chemical composition of objects is usually evaluated by means of conventional (wet) analyses (Pizzo et al, 2010(Pizzo et al, , 2013b).…”